For my first layered mani in months, I’m wearing another long standing untried. Lippmann Happy Birthday (my bottle is the “old” version, from Holiday 2009) is a multicolored hex and small square glitter in a clear base. I layered it over Chanel Black Velvet:

Picture taken in sunlight. I used two coats of Black Velvet, and “two” of Happy Birthday, The glitter is actually not that dense so painting in normal brushstrokes will deposit just a very sparse amount on the nail. Instead, I applied drops of glitter and spread it around to make sure I had even distribution, repeating the process twice to get plenty on there. I feel like this is the OG “party glitter;” I think it’s the first one I ever bought. “Party in a bottle” is an accurate descriptor; I see so many colors of glitter, in both the hexagonal and square shapes: silver, yellow, green, orange, blue, fuchsia. I like putting this type of glitter over black to make those colors really pop. This isn’t my favorite of the few party glitters I’ve tried so far; I prefer Nails Inc. Soho Street because it’s more dense at two coats, but I still like this classic. I paired it with Illamasqua Aorta on my toes.

I’m wearing this polish to complete trying the set, but it turned out to be the perfect festive mani for the championship weekend of the Australian Open. After watching Victoria Azarenka prevail and defend her title and World No. 1 ranking on Saturday, this morning I watched Novak Djokovic win his third Australian Open championship in a row, and fourth overall, for a total of six grand slams so far. 😀 Nails Inc. Soho Street (The After Party Set) definitely reflects my celebratory mood. It’s a multicolored, different-sized hex glitter in a clear base. I was already wearing Disco Lane, and after two days I had virtually no tipwear, so I saved myself some time and just layered the glitter over it:

Picture taken in sunlight. I added two coats of Soho Street to my full mani of Disco Lane. It’s definitely a rough, glittery surface but I still just used one coat of topcoat. Two or more would be needed to smooth it out. I haven’t yet tried all of the “party glitters” I own, but this is definitely already one of my favorites. It’s actually pretty dense, so after two coats I got a nice, even spread of glitter all over the nail. I think the coverage is pretty impressive, because I don’t see the type of small, regular glitter that would fill in the spaces, only two sizes of hex glitter. I love the true multicolored-ness of it all. When I look at it, even from a distance, I see all the bright pops of color (especially against the black background.) This one definitely doesn’t look silver overall. There’s pink, blue, red, and green glitter, with just a bit of silver and gold. No one color dominates, so I don’t even know what category to put it under. This is definitely another one I can’t help but stare at; it’s just so pretty! It makes me think of those Australia Day fireworks. 🙂 I paired this with OPI Festive Fuchsia on my toes.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a layered mani, and even longer since I’ve done one involving a glitter, instead of a crackle polish. Plus, this polish was the last I had from this collection left to try. China Glaze White Cap (Anchors Away, Spring 2011) is a golden tiny flake microglitter in a milky white base. I typically like to layer over black, but this time I thought I’d go for a winter white look, and I chose to put it over Illamasqua Load:

Picture taken in weak sunlight. Load applied as I’d remembered, needing three coats for an even finish. I added two coats of White Cap for a really dense, glittery look over the whole nail. The whole mani does involve a lot of coats but the end result looks so pretty! I like that it doesn’t look bright and stark, since Load is more of a creamy off-white. The golden microglitter looks so sweet and angelic; the tiny, crushed flakes sparkle delicately. I think this would’ve made for a nice holiday look too. Although it’s not snowing now, it seems perfect to wear during these wintry days that have been deathly cold. I paired this with China Glaze Bermuda Breakaway on my toes.

Now that the postseason is underway (The Yankees won a game that was tense until they blew out the Orioles in the 9th inning. :)), I have several blues and greys to try. First up is a mani that combines both colors. OPI Blue Shatter is an electric blue shimmer. I put it over Orly Mirror Mirror (Once Upon a Time, Fall 2009), a light cement grey creme:

Left hand:

Right hand:

Pictures taken in weak sunlight. Mirror Mirror applied smoothly and was nicely pigmented, giving full coverage in two coats. It provided a good, fast-drying base for Blue Shatter. Blue Shatter is another that would look good as a regular polish, too. It’s such a vibrant, electric shade of royal blue. It has that glowy metallic quality to it, but it’s not frosty at all, just loaded with pretty, light blue shimmer. It might not be as obviously Yankee-themed as this crackle mani I did last year, but at least I crossed off the last untried crackle polish off my list. I paired this with Color Club Who Are You Wearing? on my toes.

I thought I wouldn’t buy any more crackle polishes (and I don’t have that many anyway) but I saw this and I just really wanted it. OPI Super Bass Shatter (Nicki Minaj Collection) is a fuchsia-purple microglitter. I thought it was interesting how different it looked when put over different colors, so I put it over both Color Club Age of Aquarius and Color Club MODern Pink:

Left hand:

Right hand:

Pictures taken in sunlight. I used three coats for each of the Color Club polishes. Super Bass Shatter applied smoothly. I wish it was made into a regular polish too, because it’s gorgeous; something I’d definitely want to see on my whole nail. You’re not supposed to do multiple coats of the shatter or else it won’t crackle, so it looks a little bit sheer over MODern Pink (but looks perfectly opaque over Age of Aquarius, strangely.) Over the pink, the color looks more fuchsia, while over the teal it looks more purple; it’s like I have four colors on my nails! Since this is a microglitter crackle polish, there’s a nice contrast in not just color, but finish as well. I paired this with Sephora by OPI Never Enough Shoes on my toes.

As I usually do for NYE, I wanted to put on something sparkly. Even though this looks Christmas-themed, it fit the bill anyway. China Glaze Twinkle Lights (Let it Snow, Holiday 2011) is a mix of gold, red, and green glitter in a clear base. I layered it over Illamasqua Boosh:

Picture taken in natural light. I used one coat of Boosh and one of Twinkle Lights. Unlike a lot of glitters in clear bases that have been released recently, this one only has one size and shape of glitter. It’s also a very dense glitter, so I think this one could be built up to opacity on its own, probably in three coats. Looking at my finished mani, the predominant color seems to be gold, with the red and green serving as color pops, so this doesn’t look as Christmasy (like Party Hearty) as I originally thought. It’s perfectly glittery (the name is totally apropos); and I just love the way it stands out against black. I paired this with OPI Ali’s Big Break on my toes.

I thought it would be great to get back into my new polishes with a pretty holiday sparkler. OPI Rainbow Connection (The Muppets, Holiday 2011) is multicolored hexagonal glitter of varying sizes in a clear base. I put it over Illamasqua Boosh:

Picture taken in sunlight. I used one coat of Boosh and two of Rainbow Connection. I know these rainbow glitters pretty much look the same, but I can’t resist! I have a few of them, but this is the first I’ve actually tried (and the last one I’ve acquired, natch.) This seems to have three sizes of glitter, and the largest size is really big, making nice pops of color on the nail. Over black, i just look at this as multicolored, but I guess it would look predominantly silver if worn on its own. I think over black or some other dark shade is the way to go for this kind of polish; it just makes the colorful sparkle stand out that much more. I paired this with OPI Let Me Entertain You on my toes.

It was about time I tried this gem, and October would be the perfect time to try this Halloween-themed polish. Illamasqua Boo! is a royal purple, fuchsia and blue fine glitter packed in a clear base. Since I prefer to layer this type of polish over black, I put it over the one and only Boosh:

Picture taken in sunlight. I used one coat of Boosh and one of Boo! My bottle of Boosh has thickened some, but it still applies so well and in just one coat, too. Boo! is unlike any other glitterbomb I own. The glitter is very fine and densely packed in the clear base. This probably could build to opacity but I much prefer the way it looks over black. The dominant glitter color is the royal purple, and you get glittery flashes of the fuchsia and blue. It actually looks a little dull on its own, but topcoat brings the sparkle to life. And since the glitter is quite fine, the finished mani feels smooth to the touch. I love love love this look! It’s sparkly, dark but still colorful, and just…magical. I paired this with Chanel Vendetta on my toes.

Ever since I bought this particular shatter polish I knew I would use it to paint a Yankees-themed mani. As an homage to their pinstriped home uniform, I layered OPI Navy Shatter over Rescue Beauty Lounge Underwear:

Left hand:

Right hand:

Pictures taken in sunlight. Underwear doesn’t have that magical RBL formula; it’s thick and definitely needs a self-leveling topcoat, but for layering purposes I was able to get away with just one coat. And this shade of white is very, very bright. I don’t have that many, but this is my favorite crackle polish I’ve tried so far, because the colors stand out from each other and I got so much crackling on every single nail! The formula was smooth, which helped me spread the polish over the nail easily, and not thick, which helped me paint quickly. I keep looking at my nails because I’m so happy with the result! I love it even more since it makes me think of the Yankees. 😀 Since yesterday’s game was suspended due to rain, I’ll be wearing this through games 1-3. I paired this with Orly Pixie Dust on my toes.

I’ve been wearing a lot of neons lately, and I think they work so well under crackle polishes, so I wanted to try more. I layered OPI Turquoise Shatter, a vibrant blue-green shimmer, over Color Club MODern Pink (Poptastic, Spring 2010), a neon highlighter pink creme:

Left hand:

Right hand:

Pictures taken in sunlight. (The crackle polish looks a little more green than the photos reflect.) MODern Pink applied well, needing three coats for full, even coverage. I’m guessing it’s because it’s a shimmer, but I had an easier time working with Turquoise Shatter than the cremes, Black Shatter and Red Shatter. I’m disappointed that it didn’t crackle that much, but I think that’s because I laid it on too thick. Still, I love these colors together. The “Turquoise Shatter” is more of a bright blue-green teal than a true turquoise. I’ve done tons of mani/pedi combos with these kinds of shades so I thought this highlighter pink would be perfect against the vibrant teal. The look makes me think of Jem for some reason; it just seems like a truly outrageous ’80s color combo to me. 😉 I also love the contrast of finishes, with the bright, glowy neon creme peeking out from under the sparkly shimmer. It’s very striking! I paired this with Sephora by OPI Shopping Frenzy on my toes.